Legislators report they've struck a deal on a wide-ranging bill to allow certain property insurance rate hikes and shorten the time policyholders have to file claims.

The Florida House on Wednesday approved the bill by a 85-33 margin and the bill will now head to the Senate, which is expected to approve changes made by the House.

“Those changes were a collaborative effort with the House in an attempt to get…a property insurance bill that goes toward meeting [our goals] to reduce fraud and strengthen the insurance industry so it’s solvent and policyholders can rely on claims to be paid," Sen. Garrett Richter, R-Naples, said Wednesday. "It is my intention to take up the House bill and send it to the governor.”

The Senate "plans on bringing up the bill and passing it as is,” said Rep. Bryan Nelson, R-Apopka, an insurance agent who helped with the bill.

The bill is aimed to bring insurers to Florida and reduce costs for existing companies, which could help policyholders find more insurance options. An unusual alliance of groups, including Americans for Prosperity, Florida TaxWatch and the Florida Wildlife Federation, Florida Catholic Conference, and Florida Afterschool Network, back the legislation and officials from some of the groups gathered at the state Capitol today to say why.

Some referred to fees Floridians with automobile and home insurance policies pay to support state insurance programs such as Citizens Property Insurance.

But some South Florida lawmakers had fiery words for the legislation before the House's vote. Supporters "are going to tell you by making it easier to raise rates on Floridians that it's actually good for Floridians," said Rep. Even Jenne, D-Dania Beach. "It treats the citizens we represent like buckets of chum for big insurance to chew on."

Several lawmakers who filed claims for extensive property damage a few years ago said if the proposed law was in effect then, they may not have gotten paid to make repairs.

Versions of the legislation approved by the House and Senate so far differ on several issues and it's possible the most vocal of critics in the Senate would raise questions on parts of the House version. For instance, one provision would increase how much insurers can use an "expedited" process to raise premiums for backup coverage costs from 10 percent to 15 percent.

And the House stripped the Senate bill of a part that would have required certain insurers' affiliates, called managing general agents, to report financial information regularly to the state. That would make it easier for regulators to check whether more policyholder premiums should be saved for claims-paying reserves instead of bolstering affiliates' profit margins.

Jenne said MGAs are the "greatest shell game in the state of Florida."

Rep. John Wood, R-Winter Haven, who drafted the House's version, said regulators can already get contracts between MGAs and insurers and can require more detailed information if they want.

The House's version also does not include allowing insurers to drop full sinkhole coverage, and some insurance industry representatives say they're fine with that. "This good compromise will give consumers the choice to purchase sinkhole coverage while at the same time offering some protection to insurers from the extraordinary costs associated with the sharply rising number of questionable sinkhole claims," Michael Carlson, executive director, of the Personal Insurance Federation of Florida, a group founded to represent the interests of national companies like Allstate, Progressive and State Farm.

Comments

Whenever you see Americans for Prosperity, which is funded by the Koch brothers, know that what they support is always in the best interest of business and wreaks havoc on public citizens and their rights.

How is that Republican victory in the legislature and governorship working out for you lame brain tea bagger "voters". At least you and your Republican brethern get to vote with your wallets after casting your paper vote last fall.
The funny part is those that are smarter and more savvy will simply be joining the already large exodus out of Florida. That way you'll get to pay even more!
Oh....and the big Cat5 Hurricane hits? Say goodbye to the rebuild. Even by some miracle your lovely buddies the insurance industry pay you $.20/dollar wait to you see the subsequent years premiums! Don't worry if you are in the top 20%, it'll be an easy check to write........the rest.........sayonara!

How is that Republican victory in the legislature and governorship working out for you lame brain tea bagger "voters". At least you and your Republican brethern get to vote with your wallets after casting your paper vote last fall.
The funny part is those that are smarter and more savvy will simply be joining the already large exodus out of Florida. That way you'll get to pay even more!
Oh....and the big Cat5 Hurricane hits? Say goodbye to the rebuild. Even by some miracle your lovely buddies the insurance industry pay you $.20/dollar wait to you see the subsequent years premiums! Don't worry if you are in the top 2%, it'll be an easy check to write........the rest.........sayonara!

How is that Republican victory in the legislature and governorship working out for you lame brain tea bagger "voters". At least you and your Republican brethern get to vote with your wallets after casting your paper vote last fall.
The funny part is those that are smarter and more savvy will simply be joining the already large exodus out of Florida. That way you'll get to pay even more!
Oh....and the big Cat5 Hurricane hits? Say goodbye to the rebuild. Even by some miracle your lovely buddies the insurance industry pay you $.20/dollar wait to you see the subsequent years premiums! Don't worry if you are in the top 2%, it'll be an easy check to write........the rest.........sayonara!

How is that Republican victory in the legislature and governorship working out for you lame brain tea bagger "voters". At least you and your Republican brethern get to vote with your wallets after casting your paper vote last fall.
The funny part is those that are smarter and more savvy will simply be joining the already large exodus out of Florida. That way you'll get to pay even more!
Oh....and the big Cat5 Hurricane hits? Say goodbye to the rebuild. Even by some miracle your lovely buddies the insurance industry pay you $.20/dollar wait to you see the subsequent years premiums! Don't worry if you are in the top 2%, it'll be an easy check to write........the rest.........sayonara!

How is that Republican victory in the legislature and governorship working out for you lame brain tea bagger "voters". At least you and your Republican brethern get to vote with your wallets after casting your paper vote last fall.
The funny part is those that are smarter and more savvy will simply be joining the already large exodus out of Florida. That way you'll get to pay even more!
Oh....and the big Cat5 Hurricane hits? Say goodbye to the rebuild. Even by some miracle your lovely buddies the insurance industry pay you $.20/dollar wait to you see the subsequent years premiums! Don't worry if you are in the top 2%, it'll be an easy check to write........the rest.........sayonara!

How is that Republican victory in the legislature and governorship working out for you lame brain tea bagger "voters". At least you and your Republican brethern get to vote with your wallets after casting your paper vote last fall.
The funny part is those that are smarter and more savvy will simply be joining the already large exodus out of Florida. That way you'll get to pay even more!
Oh....and the big Cat5 Hurricane hits? Say goodbye to the rebuild. Even by some miracle your lovely buddies the insurance industry pay you $.20/dollar wait to you see the subsequent years premiums! Don't worry if you are in the top 2%, it'll be an easy check to write........the rest.........sayonara!

I hate too say this, but not even the Dems would have saved us. Alex Sinks right hand man turned into a Big Ins lobbiest and paved the way for all of this, and with a rep thats also an Ins rep writing the bill, we didn't stand a chance.
Maybe some body can kick start a state wide "just say no" do you think the banks would forclose on all of us?

E Lizzle"- YES, you must front the money for repairs AND while the timeframe for filing a claim is being shortened from 5 to 3 years bad enough)...the timeframe for completing the repairs appears to only be ONE year. Anyone that went through hurricane Wilma knows that it simply wasn't possible to buy roof tiles or pool/screen enclosure materials...or find contractors with the time to do the repairs during that first year for many people. So at the end of ONE year...your done!! You haven't completed the repairs, the insurance company simply keeps that portion of the claim they should have paid the homeowner upfront and in full. So ask yourself, how do the politicians think it's possible to save/borrow all the money required to fix your house AND replace all your contents/personal possessions within ONE year...when it took most people several or many decades of saving/acquiring to get the home and possessions they have!! This is simply another "backdoor" attempt to avoid paying claims by the insurance industry, the same as "low-balling" estimates, automatic denial letters and false claims of lack of policy coverage. It completely makes a mockery of the fact the insurance company is selling you a "Full Replacement Value" policy. This is just a way the politicians are helping the insurance companies get around court decisions that ended the insurance industries previous attempts at trying to "depreciate" claims after hurricanes. If they sell Full Replacement Value" policies then that is what they are supposed to be. The loss occurs the moment the house or contents are damaged and that's why people get insurance. The damage doesn't occur AFTER the things are repaired. Insurance is there to supposedly cover the loss that you have ALREADY paid for, NOT the money required to pay for it again. The insurance companies keep lying about how the new laws are to prevent people from "making" money on their claim...such BS! For example, if a person buys a house with a pool enclosure or the pool itself for that matter, the value of the enclosure (and pool) is included in the price they paid for the home. Should a hurricane knockdown the enclosure or tree roots cave in the pool, if the homeowner decides to NOT replace those things with their insurance settlement...they HAVEN'T made money!! They paid premiums to be reimbursed if those things were damaged/lost. They should be paid for that damage or loss. The homeowner doesn't make money because the value of the house can be sold for drops because now it doesn't have a pool or enclosure. The whole point of insurance is to compensate for that loss, that is exactly why homeowners buy insurance. The insurance industry tries to trick people into believing that somehow homeowners are turning the loss into a profit making scam...it's NOT a scam to be compensated for a loss EVEN if a homeowner decides to NOT repurchase that same loss a second time. The loss occurs the FIRST time it happens, NOT after a homeowner buys it a second time. I buy a home for a million dollars and a hurricane blows it completely away. I get an insurance check for the full value but decide to not rebuild and just keep the money. I didn't "make" money, the insurance company simply repaid me for money I already had/borrowed because of a contract I had with them and paid "premiums" for. This is the whole concept of insurance, insurance companies try to increase investor profits by constantly trying to minimize or circumvent through tricky policy terms and legislation the very obligations that make up the basis of their own insurance contract/agreement. Unfortunately, their is often too many voters that take their instruction on how to vote...the same way they take their religion and social perspective...from someone else "of authority". So they tune into their local bought and paid for (by Insurance and many other big corporations/industries) Fox personality, Teabagger or Pastor and wait to be told what to do and vote for. The only hope is that these type of people will eventually see that their intentionally self-imposed ignorance and voting against their own self interest isn't buying them any religious rewards nor part of making them "real" Americans...their simply being complicate in the destruction of their own country and people. In the meantime, those that actually do care about the demise of the middle class, the enormous gouging that corporations take out of Americans every day and the continued sellout of our politicians from both parties (but in particular the Repubs/Teabaggers)...we can't wait for the other side to snap out of their ignorance or want to cooperate in what's better for American citizens as opposed to it's Corporations. Democrats and Independents must realize that the other side will likely NEVER abandon their ignorance because it is so tightly tied to their religion.

Arthro- You're not wrong about the part where no one wants to subsidize Citizens policyholder premiums by "fees" on their own policies from other companies. However you're completely wrong about how and why it happened...or that they are there to subsidize current policies. The "fees" were tacked on to other peoples policies because of all the policies AND subsequent claims that Citizens picked up from all the insurance companies that quickly filed bankruptcy after Wilma. So if you don't like the "fees" then your complaint shouldn't be about getting rid of Citizens or even Citizens raising their premium rates. It should be about stopping all the other insurance companies that skim of most of their premium dollars through second companies the first company pays themselves to manage themselves...now that's a scam only politicians could consider a "business model". Maybe stop some other skimming through the outrageous expenses these same insurance companies pay themselves for "re-insurance"...out one pocket and into the other while keeping a huge "spread". Or how about limiting their obscene administrative and advertising costs..LOL, not a bad trick for companies that aren't even selling homeowner policies in the State anymore. Maybe try and stop the record bonuses the companies are paying themselves right out of premium dollars. Force the insurance companies to disclose that they quickly skim out all of this years premium dollars so that any claim which is filed gets paid out of the most recent premium dollars paid and that it is because the politicians and State regulators allow the insurance companies to constantly and habitually operate far below the minimum "reserve" level...that as soon as a hurricane strikes...they've declared bankruptcy and have folded, leaving...that's right- The Florida Taxpayer and Citizens to both cover/pay claims for the bankrupt company and continue to provide insurance coverage. I mean this scam is very simple to see and understand...politicians have to try very hard to look the other way and not see the truth. The insurance crisis is caused by SKIMMING premium dollars and allowing insurance companies to get away with not having or maintaining adequate reserves. Do you think it makes sense that a company would insure say 500 million in risk but only have to keep 5 million in reserve to pay out claims. How about if they were constantly operating at far less than even the "reserve" minimum...then complain to the politicians and regulators...don't fall for all the other BS stories of how the poor insurance company was somehow swindled by those incredibly powerful and tricky homeowners...it's a great story but still total BS.

"The Wise One", it pretty lame flaming on Republican voters. Do you honestly think these voters would have voted these people in office if they had any idea what these crooks would do? I don't think so. Put the blame where the blame belongs, on the people elected into office, not the citizens. Stop flaming like a jerk.

Deanjet - you missed the point entirely! Of course I was flaming Republican voters who believe that BS that the rich need their tax breaks so it will "trickle down" to the poor slave class. Any person with half a brain could see the agenda that Scott and his crooked payed off minions had in mind!
We have a serious problem in this country - people voting against their own interests out of stupidity and not willing to look beyond the 30 second sound bites of demagogues like Limbaugh and Beck ( and the rest of the corporate owned TV network called Fox News).
I'm praying that all the "good Republicans" will finally figure out they've been had by the top 2%.........stay tuned.........I'm not overly optimistic.........

Americans For Prosperity, are you effin kidding me? The fox is in the hen house, that astro-turf organization is a tentacle from the slimy Kochtopus. Thanks for nothing, once again the Republicans screw the middle class. It really doesn't matter, I file bankruptcy tomorrow, the only way I can survive what these cretins have done to FloriDuh.

When you read the name "Americans for Prosperity," it sounds like this is something that all Americans can agree on. Actually this group was founded by the two billionaire Koch Brothers to increase their wealth.

So, an insurance agent who works as a part time state legislator played a key role in writing this bill. Most people would call this a conflict of interest. In Florida, it is known as doing business as usual.

Why do people keep putting Republicans in office? When will they learn?

Every obstacle has been removed from any developer who wanted to pour concrete in this state for the past 15 years. The result was high insurance rates.
Citizens was always too cheap and subsidized so if a smart company does not want to insure your overpriced home in a flood zone then Citizens will.
Those white folks in the FLA legislature are all about taxpayer subsidies and are owned by the corporations.
How do you think assinine laws like the AZ Immigration Law happen? Because of corrupt white folks who tend to vote GOP.
There I said it

So we elect these people into office and then re-elect them even after they screw us. This is our fault. Prime example Ellyn Bogdanoff was re-elected and she is the biggest Insurance shill in office. I can't believe she got re-elected. Please remember to vote these people out.

~ seems like the voters who normally would not vote Republican, had to do so - to stop the "out-of-control" Democrat agenda. It was scarey. But so are the Republicans agenda - scarey. The people are very worried that there is no happy medium anymore. ...Seems like we don't have enough politicians who care enough about the dwindling middle-class and the non-wealthy to put their needs first. . .

For a "deal" to be struck, you would hope there would be something in it for the homeowner. This doesn't sound like much of a deal, it sounds like I should bend over and get ready to take it.

I've got a solution though. No private homeowners insurance in the state. If we are all citizens policy holders you will then have a large enough risk pool to withstand anything. And instead of profit taking, the money paid in during none hurricane years will be in an account gaining interest. If we would have done this back in 1993, we would be in great shape now.

Great, how high will the rates go?? as if we don't pay enough. The Gov is definitely squeezing the pocket book here. He's making this State the State to run from. As the rich gets richer, and the poor get poorer because there is no middle class left.

When we went to vote for Gov. of Florida the voting machines broke down they said, they told us just to leave the ballots with them and they would feed them in later when the voting machines were back up, we decided to come back later.
But on that note that does get you to thinking.

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About the authors

PAUL OWERS is a West Palm Beach native who graduated from the University of Central Florida in 1989. He covers the housing market for the Sun Sentinel after spending seven years on the real estate beat for that daily paper just up the road. He has impeccable timing, arriving at the Sun Sentinel on the very day that Hurricane Wilma pummeled South Florida. The real wrath came in early 2006, from readers, when he wrote that the five-year housing boom was over. They argued, cursed and complained before grudgingly admitting he was right.Follow @paulowers